Hubert Hurkacz had legendary Roger Federer watching him defeat Andrey Rublev in the Shanghai Masters final, but he forgot to mention the legend during the trophy ceremony.
Roger Federer was in the house for the Shanghai Masters final between Hurkacz and Rublev, and he got to see some pretty good tennis. He was in Shanghai to receive a trophy for his contribution to tennis, which happened on Saturday between the two semi-finals.
He continued to follow the event's conclusion and had fans going nuts whenever he was shown on the screen. It was a pretty good final to watch because both players delivered, with Hurkacz emerging on top.
After the match, the Polish player was overwhelmed with emotion after the match and forgot to mention Federer during the ceremony, for which he apologized during the press conference.
Yes, no, you know, the tournament, there's so many champions won it in the past and so many amazing players, and in my speech, I was, like, trying to thank everyone. I forgot to mention Roger, thanks for coming, so, yeah, sorry for that.
Hopefully, he won't take it personally, but definitely, you know, fun to play in front of him. Hopefully he enjoyed a little bit and, yeah, just so excited.
He's known as a gentle giant on the ATP Tour with many players who respect him for the way he conducts himself on and off the court, so this apology isn't really anything surprising.
The win was a significant one for Hurkacz, who is firmly in the mix for the ATP Finals now as he has already participated in Turin once.
He hopes to finish the year on a high note and find his place in the event once more, as he left a really solid impression the last time he played.